Mozart of Madras and double Oscar winner AR Rahman has finally broken his silence on the #MeToo movement that has taken all of the the entertainment and media world by storm.
A few singers, including Chinmayi and Bhuvana Seshan, had come out in the open to allege that the famous lyricist Vairamuthu lured some singers using AR Rahman’s name in the pretext of giving them a chance to sing songs for the movies. He had also threatened to sabotage their careers if they squealed about anything to the outside world.
Rahman’s sister AR Raihana had also revealed that she had heard about the antics of the lyricist. And now the music legend asserts that he and his team strongly believe in creating a safe creative space and that the social media on the net should be wisely.
“Been observing the #MeToo movement. Some of the names have shocked me. Both the victims and their perpetrators! I would love to see our industry become cleaner and respectful of women. More power to all the victims coming forward!” is how he expressed his feelings.
“In all my endeavours, my team and I are committed to creating an environment where everyone finds a safe creative space to bring their best, evolve, and succeed. The social media offers great freedom for victims to speak up, however we should be careful in creating a new Internet justice system, in case it’s misused.”
Rahman’s fears over the possible misuse of the #MeToo movement to settle personal scores or highlight a failed relationship were also shared by the likes of Kamal Haasan and Rajinikanth, both of whom had spoken out earlier in support of the women’s movement to expose predatory men.
The fear of misuse alone should not, however, lead to doubting every claim that comes out. Some Kollywood men, including Vairamuthu and Thiagarajan, have, however, warded off accusations.
Pretika Menon has reportedly removed her Facebook page. After having made charges against the actor and filmmaker Thiagarajan, the page is not available now. A peeved Thiagarajan tells DC, “It clearly shows the misuse of metoo movement. This is a standing example of misuse of a very good movement of #metoo. Action has to be taken on Pretika Menon after finding her whereabouts”.
